


Peppermint Secrets

by Ursapharoh15



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman and Robin (Comics), Batman and the Outsiders (Comics), Batman and the Signal (Comics)
Genre: Batfamily (DCU), Brotherly Bonding, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Shopping, Comfort, Fluff, Gen, Hot Chocolate, No editing we die like mne, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, baptist choirs, didn't know I had it in me until it was therer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:47:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21943861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ursapharoh15/pseuds/Ursapharoh15
Summary: Tis the season of secrets but it won't hurt anyone if Duke lets Damian in on a small one...or two.
Relationships: Duke Thomas & Damian Wayne
Comments: 5
Kudos: 100
Collections: Batfam Christmas Stocking 2019





	Peppermint Secrets

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DreamersMyth27](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DreamersMyth27/gifts).



> This was a lot harder than I thought but I hope everyone enjoys it! Thanks so much to my bestie writer in crime Hollyhock13 for the assist with this fic. Happy Holidays to all!!

Damian held up the two red novelty toys of the year again. ”Which of these will Drake appreciate more?”

It had been three hours; three hours in Gotham city’s biggest shopping center helping Damian shop for Tim. Duke was ready to just mail Tim the kid’s remains. He’s sure if he tipped the ladies at the wrapping set up at the center of the mall they’d turn a blind eye to the massacre. Besides, the way Tim and Damian bicker he’d bet the gift would make Tim’s year. At worst, it would make Duke’s immediate life much easier.

“For the hundredth and last time, Damian, you can’t get Tim a thing you know he won’t like.”

The little pout settles on Damian’s face like it hadn’t disappeared the moment they’d entered the action figure aisle. “You can not guarantee he would not like this. Besides, should he be opposed to it, this item will not go to waste.” Small, calloused hands grip each toy tighter before presenting them again for Duke’s examination. “Now, your honest opinion: Dino-spy Rex or Dino-spy Triceratops?”

“Dames, dude, weren’t these things on the Christmas registry you emailed to everyone?”

Blue eyes narrowed and eyebrows furrowed in anger. “I fail to see your point.”

Of course, he did. The kid was learning human interaction and relationships, and if the horror stories and reports Duke had heard and read had even a shred of truth, there was no doubt the kid had improved. But the fact remained: there was a reason Bruce had sent Duke out with Damian to get the kid’s last gift and honestly he felt cheated. 

Deep breath in, and released it slowly. “Alright, alright. Put those back, I’ll make you a deal. You find one thing that you have deduced Tim may crack a smile at and I’ll let you tag along to a secret.”

Damian loved secrets, the kid had to be in the know about everything and everyone. After the first time, Duke had told Damian about his secret hobby of Dungeons and Dragons, Damian was enamored with the idea that there were things Duke didn’t just have in his file. Duke was at least 40 percent sure that’s one of the reasons Damian liked him so much. Still, Damian weighed his options and the action figures in his hands carefully before his curiosity won out and he placed the toys back on the shelf. 

Damian set off purposefully through the chaos of the screaming children and bickering families towards the electronics aisle. Somehow Damian lost Duke along the way and by the time he managed to find him again he was already in line tapping his foot in annoyance.

“There you are, Thomas, quickly now. Have Father’s card at the ready; I refuse to wait any longer than we must.”

“I’m not pulling out that card until I know you kept your end of the deal,” Duke slid the box out from under Damian’s arm and looked it over. “The new League fighter is out? Oh, man, is this the one with the unlockable playable Robins?”

Damian lifted his chin. “Drake will now be able to be beaten by me both physically and digitally. Is it acceptable?” 

“Hella acceptable.” He offered his fist for Damian to bump and tried to hide the grin when Damian eagerly bumped it back. 

The moment they stepped out into the frozen Gotham winter with their bright purple toy store bags, Damian was whirling on him, “You promised information, Thomas. I expect it to be worth my losses.”

Duke didn’t bother hiding the roll of his eyes this time. The kid said “losses” as though Dick wasn’t across the city buying Damian the very same toys he’d been coveting in the store. Even so, a promise was a promise. 

It took Duke all of ten seconds to think of a ‘secret’ to share with Damian. The walk there, though, was windy, frigid, and miserable. The snow was piled high and a frozen, dingy gray, the sidewalks narrow and crowded. Duke grabbed hold of Damian’s sleeve and shouldered a path the best he could from the center of town down into the edge of the narrows. Damian complained most of the way, the greatest of insults coming only once Duke made him climb through a hole in a fence as a shortcut; both boys had landed in a mud puddle on the other side with yells and curses.

By the time they arrived, Damian didn’t have any complaints left. He went willingly when Duke ushered them in the front door of Gotham’s First Baptist church. The chapel was small, full of creaking wooden pews and a few folding chairs. It was warm, with an old radiator coughing and sputtering in the corner and the whole building was lit with warm, butter-yellow lighting. But this was home for Duke as much as anywhere else and today was a special day. The front of the church held all the instruments and the choir, dressed in their robes and chatting amongst themselves. 

Duke waved at the conductor before he pulled Damian into the back pew and flopped back into his seat that whined as he let out a relieved groan. Damian settled far more quietly on the edge of his seat as if the worn paint might rub off on the hand-me-down coat he stole from Dick.

Duke beamed the moment the first keys were hit by the keyboardist and the melodic sound of his choir filled the space. It’s only the dress rehearsal for the big Sunday service but this year’s group sounded better than ever and he’s eager to let them hear his praise. Damian is quick to try to quiet him but Duke nudges him playfully and praises even louder. This is a learning experience and he’d rather die than be scolded by his mother for teaching the poor kid incorrectly. 

The two boys sat and listened and whoop and cheer for the whole of the rehearsal, and the group grins and calls back to them as they belted their lyrics. Damian is slow to join. Once he does, he’s loud but stiff, just trying his best. By the end, the whole church was filled with laughter and music, and people are dancing happily as they gather up the music sheets. 

Duke jumped up to help and Damian followed along quickly.

They’re pushing the speakers up against the wall when a little old woman whispers to the group of women setting up the treat table,  
“Is that Elaine’s little boy over there?”

Duke hunched his shoulders at the not-so-quiet whisper. He still attempted to move further away, cursing the bat training as he still picked up the gossip. 

“Oh, that must be a Wayne boy with ‘im--” 

The choir conductor thanks him and sets him to wrap the cords. Duke clenched his fists around the wires he is wrapping and tries to keep wrapping them carefully into perfect loops.

“It’s such a shame about his parents--”

The more he hears the more the loops loosen and tighten until there is nothing perfect about them anymore. 

“Well I heard--”

He can’t breathe. 

“Did you hear--”

Why couldn’t he move past this?

“But have you heard--” 

Why couldn’t everything be like they used to be?

Duke isn’t sure he’ll ever be able to breathe again.

“ I would like to know how this plays into the secret you promised me, Thomas.” Damian stood squarely in the way of the group of women, forcing Duke’s attention to him and away from the tangled wires. “I was entertained but I was not informed of anything new.”

Duke snorts, “Not informed? What? Did you already know about my family’s church?”

Damian stood firm, “Familial religion is of little interest to me. I have already read of your denomination in the file father compiled.”

Of course, he would have, it’s not like Duke hadn’t been learning from Bruce for the last year, or as if they didn’t have some form of interaction most days. But if it was in his files, he needed to talk to Bruce about boundaries again. 

Duke grumbled about ungrateful children and scanned the snack table careful to see who may have brought what before deciding. Grinning, Duke bypassed some questionable cookies and quickly made two cups of hot chocolate. He broke open two candy canes and plopped one in each of the steaming styrofoam cups and stirred firmly.

Duke presented one to Damian with a wave of his hand. “Voíla! My true secret, you finally got it out of me, curse you!”

Damian did not seem impressed, in fact, he looked absolutely disgusted. “What have you done? You took a most-likely subpar drink and ruined it with a subpar candy to make a true waste—”

“Will you pipe down and just try it already? Don’t be such a hot chocolate snob.”

Damian glared but gave the chocolate a few good stirs with the candy cane just as his brother had shown him before taking a tentative sip. Followed by another sip, then a large swallow, and a scalding gulp. Damian’s eyes were watering and wide, ”It’s hot.”

“Well, yeah, I should hope so,” Duke chuckled.

“But...it’s good. How did you come up with this? Is it marketable? Can—“ Damian interrupts himself with another long sip and a sigh, “Do you think Grayson has tried this?”

Duke grins “Dunno, you could always make it for him.”

Damian stirs his drink absently before nodding and heading for the door. “Then we’d best hurry. We have materials to procure. Come along, Thomas, what other secrets can I coerce out of you?”

Duke really shouldn’t be shocked, because this is a classic Damian but even he can’t keep the shock from dropping his jaw. He walks them all the way out here, lets him see a part of his life and the little brat is going to just move past it all. Wow. Just wow. 

He has to quick step to catch up to Damian but when he does Damian grabs his hand and leans into him, “Are you going to finish yours, Duke?”

“...Nah, you can have it, little bat.” Maybe he can put up with his new, odd, little family. It’s not the same but it’s something and that’s almost enough.


End file.
